It was New Year's Eve again and I was in a hurry to buy fruits because my mother told me it would bring good luck. Hence, I went to the marketplace and went to the fruit stalls. While looking for fresh and juicy fruits, I noticed a boy who seemed to be looking for something. I walked away and continued on my task of buying fruits. After some time, I was really tired after walking for a couple of hours and carrying a few kilograms of fruits. I tried to carry the fruits home but my body won't listen to me. I decided to rest at the nearest cafe. While eating at the cafe, a boy caught my attention. He looked familiar to me and I recognized him as the boy who was looking for something earlier. He was still looking for something. I also noticed that he was carrying a torn bag that was filled up. My curiosity got the better of me so I paid my bills and secretly followed the boy.
I followed him and noticed that he was picking up fruits that were nearly rotten that had fallen by the roadside. I thought that the bag might be filled with fruits like the one he picked up. Questions filled my mind. What will he do with the useless fruits which were rejected by others? Who will he give the fruits to? At that point of time, I decided that the kid is probably a poor beggar that eats rotten fruits.
I followed him until he stopped at the park. The boy slowly removed the fruits out of the bag and started eating them. I was disgusted by what the boy did so I went up to him and told him to stop. I told him that he might get ill by eating the rotten fruits. However, he wouldn't listen to me and continued eating. To my surprise, he invited me to sit beside him and have a little talk.
I sat beside him and he stopped eating. That made me felt slightly better. He started telling me his story. He was a child of a poor couple. They passed away when he was only five years old and he has been surviving on his own ever since. This moved me greatly but the rest of his story is even more amazing.
He told me that he will pick up every fruit he sees even though it's rotten.
When I asked him why, he answered, "I picked up these fruits which other people reject because they don't know the value of these fruits. The trees wait for months just to bear fruits but people reject it. I think this will make the trees sad so I value the fruits and eat them whole-heartedly. I don't know why people reject the love the trees bear for us."
This really touched me as I realized that this young child understands the true meaning of love. He is a boy who is able to see true beauty despite the appearance.
The child taught me a lesson and I hope that all of you would try to change for the better too. If a child's eyes can see inner beauty then surely we as grown-ups can do so too.
